OP: The Way to Cook

Julia Child’s 1961 classic, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, introduced an American audience to the rigors and delights of French cuisine at a time when the country was undergoing a serious shift in interest from convenience foods to a new gourmet sensibility. The demands of Mastering the Art paid off for those who had the time and skill to invest. By 1989 when Childs’ seventh book, The Way to Cook, was published, food culture had shifted yet again—or, perhaps, Child and her publishers recognized that not every young cook possessed the basic skills to keep a dish like beef bourguignon within reach. The Way to Cook addresses those techniques that one must possess to be a success in the kitchen. Rather than shying away from challenges, however, Child meets them head-on and thoughtfully guides us through everything from bernaise sauce to pâté de campagne to tarte tatin. She teaches us how to clean an artichoke and how to carve a chicken. Step-by-step color photography adds to the inst